Aspects of Thermoregulation in Nine Species of Lizards from Baja California

Abstract

Body temperature relations of nine species of lizards from Baja California were investigated. Both endogenous and exogenous factors appear to contribute to body temperature variation. Positive correlations between air and body temperatures were found for four species. Besides such environmental effects, observations and experiments suggest that species of lizards occurring in thermally diverse habitats have greater tolerances to extreme body temperatures than do forms occurring in less diverse habitats. A survey of the literature points to a correlation between the number of species and the variance of the mean body temperatures within a group of closely related forms.